Black Forest (Schwarzwald)

Black Forest ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken, PGI-protected since 1997) is the most internationally recognized German cured-meat product. The traditional production combines dry-cure with garlic and juniper, cold-smoking over fir and pine for 1-3 weeks (the wood-smoke imparts the distinctive brown rind and resin-y aromatic), and then aging 4-6 months in mountain air. The result is denser, smokier, and saltier than Italian or Spanish dry-cured ham, with a flavor profile that's distinctly Northern European — more closely related to Speck Alto Adige than to Parma or Bayonne.

The regional charcuterie culture also produces several smoked-and-cured specialties: smoked Bratwurst variants, Schwarzwälder Speck (cold-smoked bacon), and various sausage preparations using cold-smoke. American 'Black Forest ham' sold in supermarkets is almost universally an inferior wet-cured cooked product unrelated to the PGI-certified traditional German production.